Much to the chagrin of many Texans, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently decided to regulate greenhouse gasses around the nation. This decision was a long time in the making and has important implications for the State of Texas and the whole nation. In this blog post, I’ll describe…
This week we continue our examination of ethanol as an alternative energy source. As a Texas oil and gas attorney, I am particularly interested in the impact that a shift from fossil fuels to alternatives would have on our economy and on our society. It is an unavoidable fact that…
As a Texas oil and gas attorney, I have spent 33 years observing the Texas Railroad Commission, the agency in Texas that regulates oil and gas drilling, production and pipelines (among other things). In my experience, the Railroad Commission is tough and efficient. I have never seen them act as…
When discussing the issues involved in national energy and environmental policy, the subject of alternative energy frequently comes up. As a Texas oil and gas attorney, I follow these discussions with great interest. The outcomes of our decisions about alternative energy sources will eventually effect anyone even tangentially connected with…
Although I am primarily a Texas oil and gas attorney, I am interested in all energy sources, and I am especially interested in the ongoing national discussion about what are called alternative energy sources. One of the hottest topics in the world of energy is the discussion of alternatives to…
As the price of oil creeps back up, the pace of oil and gas leasing has picked up as well. As a Texas oil and gas attorney, I regularly get calls from folks who ask me why they should go to the expense of having an attorney review their oil…
As a Texas oil and gas lawyer, I have followed with interest the proposals to add new regulations for onshore, as well as offshore, drilling in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Several initiatives to tighten federal regulation of offshore drilling are making their way through the…
As a Texas oil and gas attorney, I have had occasion from time to time to observe the environmental, administrative and legal ramifications of an onshore oil spill, usually caused by vandalism or malfunctioning equipment. Along with everyone else in the world, I am horrified as the tragedy in the…
As a Texas oil and gas attorney, I regularly get calls from folks who, long after they have signed an oil and gas lease, are upset with an oil and gas company for something the company is doing or not doing. In most cases, once we review the oil and…
As a Texas oil and gas attorney, I have viewed the “global warming” debate with growing alarm. When the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change (“IPCC”) initially issued its fourth report, I was concerned because the IPCC is made up primarily of politicians, not scientists. Next, I read the…